Ireland's oldest adventure sports centre, Tiglin, in Co Wicklow, says it is closing "temporarily" for refurbishment. However, five staff at the centre have resigned in recent weeks amid uncertainty about its future.
The Irish Adventure Sports Training Trust (IASTT) said in a statement yesterday that management at the centre would be taken over by the Mountaineering Council of Ireland (MCI), once "urgent" refurbishment works were complete in "a number of months".
It would reopen in the autumn and would "remain operational thereafter, pending completion of a review of its future" by the Irish Sports Council, the trust said.
Tiglin is owned and managed by the IASTT, which represents the main adventure sports, and is financed by an annual grant from the Irish Sports Council, the City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee and income from courses.
Last year closure was averted by the Irish Sports Council, which undertook a review. This report recommended that the centre be kept open pending a more detailed review of outdoor adventure training.
The centre is based in old stable buildings at the Devil's Glen in Ashford, Co Wicklow.
Brendan Whelan, director of mountaineering, told The Irish Times that he and four colleagues had resigned in the past few weeks due to the level of uncertainty and lack of communication from management.
The trust has said it regretted "any inconvenience to those planning to participate in programmes and courses previously announced by Tiglin", and said further information would be available on the MCI website, www.mountaineering.ie, in the coming weeks.
